Method and system for a mobile architecture that supports a cellular or wireless network and broadcast utilizing an integrated single chip cellular and broadcast silicon solution

ABSTRACT

In an RF communication system, aspects for supporting cellular or wireless network and broadcast utilizing an integrated single chip cellular and broadcast silicon solution may comprise receiving in a mobile terminal, a plurality of cellular frequency band communications services and VHF/UHF band broadcast services in a single baseband processor IC within a mobile terminal. Cellular information associated with the cellular frequency band communications service, and VHF/UHF broadcast information associated with the VHF/UHF broadcast service may be processed by a cellular processing module and a VHF/UHF broadcast processing module, respectively, integrated within a single integrated circuit within the mobile terminal. The cellular processing module and the VHF/UHF broadcast processing module within the mobile terminal may operate independently of each other to separately process the cellular information and the VHF/UHF broadcast information without exchanging related information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application makes reference to:

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,991, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,847, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,461, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,877, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,914, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,486, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/011,009, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,855, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,743, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,983, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/011,000, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,681, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,883, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/011,006, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,487, filed Dec. 13, 2004;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,481, filed Dec. 13, 2004;    and-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,524, filed Dec. 13, 2004.

All of the above stated applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless transmission ofdata. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate toa method and system for a mobile architecture that supports a cellularor wireless network and broadcast utilizing an integrated single chipcellular and broadcast silicon solution.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Broadcasting and telecommunications have historically occupied separatefields. In the past, broadcasting was largely an “over-the-air” mediumwhile wired media carried telecommunications. That distinction may nolonger apply as both broadcasting and telecommunications may bedelivered over either wired or wireless media. Present development mayadapt broadcasting to mobility services. One limitation has been thatbroadcasting may often require high bit rate data transmission at rateshigher than could be supported by existing mobile communicationsnetworks. However, with emerging developments in wireless communicationstechnology, even this obstacle may be overcome.

Terrestrial television and radio broadcast networks have made use ofhigh power transmitters covering broad service areas, which enableone-way distribution of content to user equipment such as televisionsand radios. By contrast, wireless telecommunications networks have madeuse of low power transmitters, which have covered relatively small areasknown as “cells”. Unlike broadcast networks, wireless networks may beadapted to provide two-way interactive services between users of userequipment such as telephones and computer equipment.

The introduction of cellular communications systems in the late 1970'sand early 1980's represented a significant advance in mobilecommunications. The networks of this period may be commonly known asfirst generation, or “1G” systems. These systems were based upon analog,circuit-switching technology, the most prominent of these systems mayhave been the advanced mobile phone system (AMPS). Second generation, or“2G” systems ushered improvements in performance over 1G systems andintroduced digital technology to mobile communications. Exemplary 2Gsystems include the global system for mobile communications (GSM),digital AMPS (D-AMPS), and code division multiple access (CDMA). Many ofthese systems have been designed according to the paradigm of thetraditional telephony architecture, often focused on circuit-switchedservices, voice traffic, and supported data transfer rates up to 14.4kbits/s. Higher data rates were achieved through the deployment of“2.5G” networks, many of which were adapted to existing 2G networkinfrastructures. The 2.5G networks began the introduction ofpacket-switching technology in wireless networks. However, it is theevolution of third generation, or “3G” technology that may introducefully packet-switched networks, which support high-speed datacommunications.

The general packet radio service (GPRS), which is an example of a 2.5Gnetwork service oriented for data communications, comprises enhancementsto GSM that required additional hardware and software elements inexisting GSM network infrastructures. Where GSM may allot a single timeslot in a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame, GPRS may allot upto 8 such time slots providing a data transfer rate of up to 115.2kbits/s. Another 2.5G network, enhanced data rates for GSM evolution(EDGE), also comprises enhancements to GSM, and like GPRS, EDGE mayallocate up to 8 time slots in a TDMA frame for packet-switched, orpacket mode, transfers. However, unlike GPRS, EDGE adapts 8 phase shiftkeying (8-PSK) modulation to achieve data transfer rates that may be ashigh as 384 kbits/s.

The universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) is an adaptationof a 3G system, which is designed to offer integrated voice, multimedia,and Internet access services to portable user equipment. The UMTS adaptswideband CDMA (W-CDMA) to support data transfer rates, which may be ashigh as 2 Mbits/s. One reason why W-CDMA may support higher data ratesis that W-CDMA channels may have a bandwidth of 5 MHz versus the 200 kHzchannel bandwidth in GSM. A related 3G technology, high speed downlinkpacket access (HSDPA), is an Internet protocol (IP) based serviceoriented for data communications, which adapts W-CDMA to support datatransfer rates of the order of 10 Mbits/s. HSDPA achieves higher datarates through a plurality of methods. For example, many transmissiondecisions may be made at the base station level, which is much closer tothe user equipment as opposed to being made at a mobile switching centeror office. These may include decisions about the scheduling of data tobe transmitted, when data are to be retransmitted, and assessments aboutthe quality of the transmission channel. HSDPA may also utilize variablecoding rates in transmitted data. HSDPA also supports 16-levelquadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) over a high-speed downlinkshared channel (HS-DSCH), which permits a plurality of users to share anair interface channel.

The multiple broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) is an IP datacastservice, which may be deployed in EDGE and UMTS networks. The impact ofMBMS is largely within the network in which a network element adapted toMBMS, the broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC), interacts withother network elements within a GSM or UMTS system to manage thedistribution of content among cells within a network. User equipment maybe required to support functions for the activation and deactivation ofMBMS bearer service. MBMS may be adapted for delivery of video and audioinformation over wireless networks to user equipment. MBMS may beintegrated with other services offered over the wireless network torealize multimedia services, such as multicasting, which may requiretwo-way interaction with user equipment.

Standards for digital television terrestrial broadcasting (DTTB) haveevolved around the world with different systems being adopted indifferent regions. The three leading DTTB systems are, the advancedstandards technical committee (ATSC) system, the digital video broadcastterrestrial (DVB-T) system, and the integrated service digitalbroadcasting terrestrial (ISDB-T) system. The ATSC system has largelybeen adopted in North America, South America, Taiwan, and South Korea.This system adapts trellis coding and 8-level vestigial sideband (8-VSB)modulation. The DVB-T system has largely been adopted in Europe, theMiddle East, Australia, as well as parts of Africa and parts of Asia.The DVB-T system adapts coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(COFDM). The ISDB-T system has been adopted in Japan and adaptsbandwidth segmented transmission orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (BST-OFDM). The various DTTB systems may differ inimportant aspects; some systems employ a 6 MHz channel separation, whileothers may employ 7 MHz or 8 MHz channel separations. Planning for theallocation of frequency spectrum may also vary among countries with somecountries integrating frequency allocation for DTTB services into theexisting allocation plan for legacy analog broadcasting systems. In suchinstances, broadcast towers for DTTB may be co-located with broadcasttowers for analog broadcasting services with both services beingallocated similar geographic broadcast coverage areas. In othercountries, frequency allocation planning may involve the deployment ofsingle frequency networks (SFNs), in which a plurality of towers,possibly with overlapping geographic broadcast coverage areas (alsoknown as “gap fillers”), may simultaneously broadcast identical digitalsignals. SFNs may provide very efficient use of broadcast spectrum as asingle frequency may be used to broadcast over a large coverage area incontrast to some of the conventional systems, which may be used foranalog broadcasting, in which gap fillers transmit at differentfrequencies to avoid interference.

Even among countries adopting a common DTTB system, variations may existin parameters adapted in a specific national implementation. Forexample, DVB-T not only supports a plurality of modulation schemes,comprising quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-QAM, and 64 levelQAM (64-QAM), but DVB-T offers a plurality of choices for the number ofmodulation carriers to be used in the COFDM scheme. The “2K” modepermits 1,705 carrier frequencies that may carry symbols, each with auseful duration of 224 μs for an 8 MHz channel. In the “8K” mode thereare 6,817 carrier frequencies, each with a useful symbol duration of 896μs for an 8 MHz channel. In SFN implementations, the 2K mode may providecomparatively higher data rates but smaller geographical coverage areasthan may be the case with the 8K mode. Different countries adopting thesame system may also employ different channel separation schemes.

While 3G systems are evolving to provide integrated voice, multimedia,and data services to mobile user equipment, there may be compellingreasons for adapting DTTB systems for this purpose. One of the morenotable reasons may be the high data rates that may be supported in DTTBsystems. For example, DVB-T may support data rates of 15 Mbits/s in an 8MHz channel in a wide area SFN. There are also significant challenges indeploying broadcast services to mobile user equipment. Many handheldportable devices, for example, may require that services consume minimumpower to extend battery life to a level which may be acceptable tousers. Another consideration is the Doppler effect in moving userequipment, which may cause inter-symbol interference in receivedsignals. Among the three major DTTB systems, ISDB-T was originallydesigned to support broadcast services to mobile user equipment. WhileDVB-T may not have been originally designed to support mobilitybroadcast services, a number of adaptations have been made to providesupport for mobile broadcast capability. The adaptation of DVB-T tomobile broadcasting is commonly known as DVB handheld (DVB-H).

To meet requirements for mobile broadcasting the DVB-H specification maysupport time slicing to reduce power consumption at the user equipment,addition of a 4K mode to enable network operators to make tradeoffsbetween the advantages of the 2K mode and those of the 8K mode, and anadditional level of forward error correction on multiprotocolencapsulated data—forward error correction (MPE-FEC) to make DVB-Htransmissions more robust to the challenges presented by mobilereception of signals and to potential limitations in antenna designs forhandheld user equipment. DVB-H may also use the DVB-T modulationschemes, like QPSK and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM),which may be most resilient to transmission errors. MPEG audio and videoservices may be more resilient to error than data, thus additionalforward error correction may not be required to meet DTTB serviceobjectives.

Time slicing may reduce power consumption in user equipment byincreasing the burstiness of data transmission. Instead of transmittingdata at the received rate, under time slicing techniques, thetransmitter may delay the sending of data to user equipment and senddata later but at a higher bit rate. This may reduce total datatransmission time over the air, time, which may be used to temporarilypower down the receiver at the user equipment. Time slicing may alsofacilitate service handovers as user equipment moves from one cell toanother because the delay time imposed by time slicing may be used tomonitor transmitters in neighboring cells. The MPE-FEC may compriseReed-Solomon coding of IP data packets, or packets using other dataprotocols. The 4K mode in DVB-H may utilize 3,409 carriers, each with auseful duration of 448 μs for an 8 MHz channel. The 4K mode may enablenetwork operators to realize greater flexibility in network design atminimum additional cost. Importantly, DVB-T and DVB-H may coexist in thesame geographical area. Transmission parameter signaling (TPS) bits thatare carried in the header of transmitted messages may indicate whether agiven DVB transmission is DVB-T or DVB-H, in addition to indicatingwhether DVB-H specific features, such as time slicing, or MPE-FEC are tobe performed at the receiver. As time slicing may be a mandatory featureof DVB-H, an indication of time slicing in the TPS may indicate that thereceived information is from a DVB-H service.

In a handheld device, battery life may be a concern. As discussed,transmission technology may affect the battery life. More generally, thehandset battery life may be affected by the system components, includingthe number of chips in the handset. The handset battery life may also beaffected by the frequency at which the components operate—the faster theoperating speed, the higher the power consumption.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention provide a method and system for amobile architecture that supports a cellular or wireless network andbroadcast utilizing an integrated single chip cellular and broadcastsilicon solution. Aspects of the method may comprise receiving, in amobile terminal, a plurality of cellular frequency band communicationsservices for processing. The RF signals associated with the receivedplurality of cellular frequency band communications services and RFsignals associated with the VHF/UHF band broadcast services may beconverted to digital baseband signals.

Aspects of the method may further comprise processing cellularinformation associated with the plurality of cellular frequency bandcommunications services via at least one cellular processing moduleintegrated within a single integrated circuit within the mobileterminal. At least one VHF/UHF broadcast services may be received forprocessing by the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may also processVHF/UHF broadcast information associated with at least one VHF/UHFbroadcast services utilizing at least one VHF/UHF broadcast processingmodule integrated within the single integrated circuit within the mobileterminal. The cellular processing modules and the VHF/UHF broadcastprocessing modules may operate independently of each other to separatelyprocess the cellular information and the VHF/UHF broadcast informationwithout exchanging information.

The single integrated circuit within the mobile terminal may be a singlebaseband processor integrated circuit (BBPIC). The mobile terminal mayreceive the plurality of cellular frequency band communications servicesindependently of the VHF/UHF band broadcast services, and the pluralityof cellular frequency band communications services may operateindependently of the VHF/UHF band broadcast services. The VHF/UHF bandbroadcast services may be received by the mobile terminal from a digitalvideo broadcasting (DVB) system, and the cellular frequency bandcommunications services may be received from at least one of globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service(GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), code divisionmultiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), and high speeddownlink packet access (HSDPA) systems.

Aspects of the system may comprise circuitry in a mobile terminal thatreceives and processes a plurality of cellular frequency bandcommunications services and at least one VHF/UHF broadcast services. Thesystem may also comprise at least one cellular processing moduleintegrated within a single integrated circuit within the mobile terminalthat processes cellular information associated with the plurality ofcellular frequency band communications services. At least one VHF/UHFbroadcast processing module integrated within the single integratedcircuit within the mobile terminal may process VHF/UHF broadcastinformation associated with at least one VHF/UHF broadcast services.

The system may further comprise circuitry within the mobile terminalthat converts RF signals associated with the received plurality ofcellular frequency band communications services and RF signalsassociated with the VHF/UHF band broadcast services to digital basebandsignals. The cellular processing modules and the VHF/UHF broadcastprocessing modules within the single integrated circuit in the mobileterminal may operate independently of each other to separately processthe cellular information and the VHF/UHF broadcast information withoutexchanging information.

The single integrated circuit within the mobile terminal may be a singlebaseband processor integrated circuit (BBPIC). The plurality of cellularfrequency band communications services may be received independently ofthe VHF/UHF band broadcast services in the mobile terminal. Theplurality of cellular frequency band communications services may operateindependently of the VHF/UHF band broadcast services. The VHF/UHF bandbroadcast services may be received in the mobile terminal from a digitalvideo broadcasting (DVB) system, and the plurality of cellular frequencyband communications services may be received in the mobile terminal fromat least one of global system for mobile communications (GSM), generalpacket radio service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution(EDGE), code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), wideband CDMA(WCDMA), and high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) systems.

Aspects of the system may comprise a mobile terminal in which a singleBBPIC within the mobile terminal may be coupled to a plurality ofreceiver front ends (RFEs) via a channel interface. At least one of theplurality of receiver front ends comprises a cellular receiver front endand at least one of the plurality of receiver front ends comprises aVHF/UHF broadcast receiver front end. Furthermore, a processor interfacemay be coupled to the single BBPIC, a memory interface may be coupled tothe single BBPIC, and a control interface may be coupled to the singleBBPIC. In one embodiment of the invention, memory devices may also becoupled to the single BBPIC via the memory interface and a powermanagement unit may be coupled to the single BBPIC via the controlinterface. At least one peripheral device may be coupled to the singleBBPIC via a peripheral interface.

The channel interface may comprise at least one serial bus, and theprocessor interface may be an advanced microcontroller bus architecture(AMBA) bus. At least one central processing unit (CPU) and at least onedigital signal processor (DSP) may be coupled to the single BBPIC viathe processor interface. The memory interface may be a serial randomaccess memory (SRAM) bus and the control interface may be aninter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus. The peripheral interface may be aserial bus. The peripheral interface may also couple the single BBPIC toa plurality of user interfaces. Exemplary user interfaces may comprise awireless local area network (WLAN) interface, a universal subscriberidentity module (USIM), or a Bluetooth interface.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providingintegrated services between a cellular network and a digital videobroadcast network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of theexemplary system of FIG. 1 a for providing integrated services between acellular network and a digital video broadcast network, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 c is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of theexemplary system of FIG. 1 a for providing integrated services between acellular network and a digital video broadcast network, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 d is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of theexemplary system of FIG. 1 a for providing integrated services between acellular network and a digital video broadcast network, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 e is a high-level block diagram of exemplary DVB-H receivercircuitry in a mobile terminal, which may be utilized in connection withan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 f is a block diagram illustrating the sharing of a multiplexer(MUX) by a plurality of MPEG2 services, which may be utilized inconnection with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 a is a block diagram of a mobile terminal that is adapted toreceive VHF/UHF broadcasts and cellular communications, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 b is a block diagram illustrating receive processing circuit ofan RF integrated circuit (RFIC), in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 c is a block diagram of an exemplary RF receiver system, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 a is a high-level block diagram illustrating an exemplary radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC) and baseband processor (BBP)configuration that may be utilized in connection with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 3 b is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary baseband processorintegrated circuit (BBPIC), such as, for example, the BBPIC of FIG. 3 a,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 c is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary coupling of theBBPIC of FIG. 3 a to a plurality of peripherals, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 d is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary coupling of theBBPIC of FIG. 3 a to a plurality of peripherals, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 e is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary coupling of theBBPIC of FIG. 3 a to a plurality of peripherals, including RFFEs and asingle antenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 f is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating receiving an RFsignal and converting the RF signal to a baseband signal, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 g is a block diagram illustrating exemplary communication betweena mobile terminal and a plurality of different communication paths, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor a mobile architecture that supports a cellular or wireless networkand broadcast utilizing an integrated single chip cellular and broadcastsilicon solution. Combining support of cellular or wireless network andbroadcast signal processing functionalities in one chip may reducesilicon area, decrease power consumption and may provide cost savings inreduced parts inventory, and in a less complex manufacturing processthat may result from the reduced parts inventory.

FIG. 1 a is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providingintegrated services between a cellular network and a digital videobroadcast network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 1 a, there is shown terrestrial broadcaster network102, wireless service provider network 104, service provider 106, anInternet service provider (ISP) 107, a portal 108, public switchedtelephone network 110, and mobile terminals (MTs) 116 a and 116 b. Theterrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise transmitter (Tx) 102 a,multiplexer (Mux) 102 b, and information content source 114. The contentsource 114 may also be referred to as a data carousel, which maycomprise audio, data and video content. The terrestrial broadcasternetwork 102 may also comprise VHF/UHF broadcast antennas 112 a and 112b. The wireless service provider network 104 may comprise mobileswitching center (MSC) 118 a, and a plurality of cellular base stations104 a, 104 b, 104 c, and 104 d.

The terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise suitable equipmentthat may be adapted to encode and/or encrypt data for transmission viathe transmitter 102 a. The transmitter 102 a in the terrestrialbroadcast network 102 may be adapted to utilize VHF/UHF broadcastchannels to communicate information to the mobile terminals 116 a, 116b. The multiplexer 102 b associated with the terrestrial broadcasternetwork 102 may be utilized to multiplex data from a plurality ofsources. For example, the multiplexer 102 b may be adapted to multiplexvarious types of information such as audio, video and/or data into asingle pipe for transmission by the transmitter 102 a. Content mediafrom the portal 108, which may be handled by the service provider 106may also be multiplexed by the multiplexer 102 b. The portal 108 may bean ISP service provider.

Although communication links between the terrestrial broadcast network102 and the service provider 106, and also the communication linksbetween the service provider 106 and the wireless service provider 104may be wired communication links, the invention may be not so limited.Accordingly, at least one of these communication links may be wirelesscommunication links. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, atleast one of these communication links may be an 802.x basedcommunication link such an 802.16 or WiMax broadband accesscommunication link. In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, atleast one of these connections may be a broadband line of sight (LOS)connection.

The wireless service provider network 104 may be a cellular or personalcommunication service (PCS) provider. The term cellular as utilizedherein refers to both cellular and PCS frequencies bands. Hence, usageof the term cellular may comprise any band of frequencies that may beutilized for cellular communication and/or any band of frequencies thatmay be utilized for PCS communication. The wireless service providernetwork 104 may utilize cellular or PCS access technologies such as GSM,UMTS, CDMA, CDMA2000, WCDMA, AMPS, N-AMPS, and/or TDMA. The cellularnetwork may be utilized to offer bidirectional services via uplink anddownlink communication channels. In this regard, other bidirectionalcommunication methodologies comprising uplink and downlink capabilities,whether symmetric or asymmetric, may be utilized.

Although the wireless service provider network 104 is illustrated as aGSM, UMTS, CDMA, WCDMA based network and/or variants thereof, theinvention is not limited in this regard. Accordingly, the wirelessservice provider network 104 may be an 802.11 based wireless network orwireless local area network (WLAN). The wireless service providernetwork 104 may also be adapted to provide 802.11 based wirelesscommunication in addition to GSM, UMTS, CDMA, WCDMA, CDMA2000 basednetwork and/or variants thereof. In this case, the mobile terminals 116a, 116 b may also be compliant with the 802.11 based wireless network.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, if themobile terminal (MT) 116 a is within an operating range of the VHF/UHFbroadcasting antenna 112 a and moves out of the latter's operating rangeand into an operating range of the VHF/UHF broadcasting antenna 112 b,then VHF/UHF broadcasting antenna 112 b may be adapted to provideUHF/VHF broadcast services to the mobile terminal 116 a. If the mobileterminal 116 a subsequently moves back into the operating range of theVHF/UHF broadcasting antenna 112 a, then the broadcasting antenna 112 amay be adapted to provide VHF/UHF broadcasting service to the mobileterminal 116 a. In a somewhat similar manner, if the mobile terminal(MT) 116 b is within an operating range of the VHF/UHF broadcastingantenna 112 b and moves out of the latter's operating range and into anoperating range of the broadcasting antenna 112 a, then the VHF/UHFbroadcasting antenna 112 a may be adapted to provide VHF/UHFbroadcasting service to the mobile terminal 116 b. If the mobileterminal 116 b subsequently moves back into the operating range ofbroadcasting antenna 112 b, then the VHF/UHF broadcasting antenna 112 bmay be adapted to provide VHF/UHF broadcast services to the mobileterminal 116 b.

The service provider 106 may comprise suitable interfaces, circuitry,logic and/or code that may be adapted to facilitate communicationbetween the terrestrial broadcasting network 102 and the wirelesscommunication network 104. In an illustrative embodiment of theinvention the service provider 106 may be adapted to utilize itsinterfaces to facilitate exchange control information with theterrestrial broadcast network 102 and to exchange control informationwith the wireless service provider 104. The control informationexchanged by the service provider 106 with the terrestrial broadcastingnetwork 102 and the wireless communication network 104 may be utilizedto control certain operations of the mobile terminals, the terrestrialbroadcast network 102 and the wireless communication network 104.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the service provider106 may also comprise suitable interfaces, circuitry, logic and/or codethat may be adapted to handle network policy decisions. For example, theservice provider 106 may be adapted to manage a load on the terrestrialbroadcast network 102 and/or a load on the wireless service providernetwork 104. Load management may be utilized to distribute the flow ofinformation throughout the terrestrial broadcast network 104 and/or aload on the wireless service provider network 104. For example, ifinformation is to be broadcasted via the wireless service providernetwork 104 to a plurality of mobile terminals within a particular cellhandled by the base station 104 a and it is determined that this mayoverload the wireless service provider network 104, then the terrestrialbroadcast network 102 may be configured to broadcast the information tothe mobile terminals.

The service provider 106 may also be adapted to handle certain types ofservice requests, which may have originated from a mobile terminal. Forexample, the mobile terminal 116 a may request that information bedelivered to it via a downlink VHF/UHF broadcast channel. However, adownlink VHF/UHF broadcast channel may be unavailable for the deliveryof the requested information. As a result, the service provider 106 mayroute the requested information through a cellular channel via the basestation 104 c to the mobile terminal 116 a. The requested informationmay be acquired from the content source 114, the ISP 107, and/or theportal 108. In another example, the mobile terminal 116 b may requestthat information be delivered to it via a downlink cellular channel.However, the service provider 106 may determine that delivery of theinformation is not critical and/or the cheapest way to deliver to themobile terminal 116 b is via a downlink VHF/UHF broadcast channel. As aresult, the service provider 106 may route the requested informationfrom the ISP 107, the portal 108 or content service 114 to the mobileterminal 116 b. The service provider 106 may also have the capability tosend at least a portion of information to be delivered to, for example,mobile terminal 116 a via the VHF/UHF broadcast channel and a remainingportion of the information to be delivered via a cellular channel.

The ISP 107 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that maybe adapted to provide content media to the service provider 106 via oneor more communication links. These communication links, although notshown, may comprise wired and/or wireless communication links. Thecontent media that may be provided by the ISP 107 may comprise audio,data, video or any combination thereof. In this regard, the ISP 107 maybe adapted to provide one or more specialized information services tothe service provider 106.

The portal 108 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code thatmay be adapted to provide content media to the service provider 106 viaone or more communication links. These communication links, although notshown, may comprise wired and/or wireless communication links. Thecontent media that may be provided by the portal 108 may comprise audio,data, video or any combination thereof. In this regard, the portal 108may be adapted to provide one or more specialized information servicesto the service provider 106.

The public switched telephone network (PSTN) 110 may be coupled to theMSC 118 a. Accordingly, the MSC 118 a may be adapted to switch callsoriginating from within the PSTN 110 to one or more mobile terminalsserviced by the wireless service provider 104. Similarly, the MSC 118 amay be adapted to switch calls originating from mobile terminalsserviced by the wireless service provider 104 to one or more telephonesserviced by the PSTN 110.

The information content source 114 may comprise a data carousel. In thisregard, the information content source 114 may be adapted to providevarious information services, which may comprise online data includingaudio, video and data content. The information content source 114 mayalso comprise file download, and software download capabilities. Ininstances where a mobile terminal fails to acquire requested informationfrom the information content source 114 or the requested information isunavailable, then the mobile terminal may acquire the requestedinformation via, for example, a cellular channel from the ISP 107 and/orthe portal 108. The request may be initiated through an uplink cellularcommunication path.

The mobile terminals (MTs) 116 a and 116 b may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that may be adapted to handle the processing ofuplink and downlink cellular channels for various access technologiesand broadcast UHF/VHF technologies. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the mobile terminals 116 a, 116 b may be adapted to utilizeone or more cellular access technologies such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA,WCDMA, and CDMA2000. The mobile terminal may also be adapted to receiveand process VHF/UHF broadcast signals in the VHF/UHF bands. For example,a mobile terminal may be adapted to receive and process DVB-H signals. Amobile terminal may be adapted to request information via a firstcellular service and in response, receive corresponding information viaa VHF/UHF broadcast service. A mobile terminal may also be adapted torequest information from a service provider via a cellular service andin response, receive corresponding information via a data service, whichis provided via the cellular service. A mobile terminal may also beadapted to request Internet information from an Internet serviceprovider. The mobile terminals may be adapted to receive VHF/UHFbroadcast information from the VHF/UHF broadcast antennas 112 a and 112b. In some instances, the mobile terminal may communicate correspondinguplink information via an uplink cellular communication channel.

In an embodiment of the invention, a mobile terminal may be adapted toutilize a single integrated circuit for receiving and processingbroadcast VHF/UHF channels, and for receiving and processing cellular orPCS channels. In this regard, the single broadcast and cellularintegrated circuit may be adapted to handle different cellular accesstechnologies. For example, the single integrated circuit may comprise aplurality of modules each of which may be adapted to receive and processa particular cellular access technology or a VHF/UHF broadcast channel.Accordingly, a first module may be adapted to handle GSM, a secondmodule may be adapted to handle WCDMA, and a third module may be adaptedto handle at least one VHF/UHF channel.

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of theexemplary system of FIG. 1 a for providing integrated services between acellular network and a digital video broadcast network, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 b, there isshown terrestrial broadcaster network 102, wireless service providernetwork 104, a service provider 106, portal 108, public switchedtelephone network 110, and mobile terminals (MTs) 116 a and 116 b. Theterrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise transmitter (Tx) 102 a,multiplexer (Mux) 102 b, and VHF/UHF broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b.Although VHF/UHF broadcast antenna 112 b is illustrated separately fromthe terrestrial broadcast network 102, it may still be part of theterrestrial broadcast network 102. The wireless service provider network104 may comprise mobile switching center (MSC) 118 a, and a plurality ofcellular base stations 104 a, 104 b, 104 c, and 104 d.

The system of FIG. 1 b is somewhat similar to the FIG. 1 a with theexception that FIG. 1 b has the content source 114 located external tothe terrestrial broadcast network 102. The content source 114, which mayalso be referred to as a data carousel, may comprise audio, data andvideo content. At least a portion of the audio, data and/or videocontent stored in the content source 114 may be linked so that ifinformation cannot be retrieved from the content source 114, then it maybe received from the portal 108. In the system of FIG. 1 b, a providerother than the terrestrial broadcaster 102 may manage the content source114. Notwithstanding, the audio, video and/or data from the contentsource 114 may still be multiplexed by the multiplexer 102 b in theterrestrial broadcast network 102.

FIG. 1 c is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of theexemplary system of FIG. 1 a for providing integrated services between acellular network and a digital video broadcast network, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 c, there isshown terrestrial broadcaster network 102, wireless service providernetwork 104, portal 108, public switched telephone network 110, andmobile terminals (MTs) 116 a and 116 b. The terrestrial broadcasternetwork 102 may comprise transmitter (Tx) 102 a, multiplexer (Mux) 102b, service provider 106, and VHF/UHF broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b.The wireless service provider network 104 may comprise mobile switchingcenter (MSC) 118 a, and a plurality of cellular base stations 104 a, 104b, 104 c, and 104 d.

The system of FIG. 1 c is somewhat similar to the FIG. 1 a with theexception that FIG. 1 b has the service provider 106 co-located with theterrestrial broadcast network 102. In this regard, the terrestrialbroadcast network 102 may control the functions of the service provider106. Since the terrestrial broadcast network 102 controls the functionsof the service provider, the broadcast services may be more efficientlyprovided to the mobile terminals via the VHF/UHF broadcast downlink pathprovided by the terrestrial broadcaster network 102. Hence, instead ofhaving to send information to an externally located service provider,the integrated control and logic services provided by the terrestrialbroadcaster network 102 and by the service provider 106 may makedecisions as to how best to handle information to and from a mobileterminal. In this regard, the service provider 106 may also communicatewith an Internet service provider (ISP).

FIG. 1 d is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of theexemplary system of FIG. 1 a for providing integrated services between acellular network and a digital video broadcast network, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 d, there isshown terrestrial broadcaster network 102, wireless service providernetwork 104, portal 108, public switched telephone network 110, andmobile terminals (MTs) 116 a and 116 b. The terrestrial broadcasternetwork 102 may comprise transmitter (Tx) 102 a, multiplexer (Mux) 102b, and VHF/UHF broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b. The wireless serviceprovider network 104 may comprise service provider 106, mobile switchingcenter (MSC) 118 a, and a plurality of cellular base stations 104 a, 104b, 104 c, and 104 d.

The system of FIG. 1 d is somewhat similar to the FIG. 1 a with theexception that FIG. 1 d has the service provider 106 co-located with thewireless service provider network 104. In this regard, the wirelessservice provider network 104 may control the functions of the serviceprovider 106. Since the wireless service provider network 104 controlsthe functions of the service provider 106, the broadcast services may bemore efficiently provided to the mobile terminals via the VHF/UHFbroadcast downlink path provided by the terrestrial broadcaster network102. Hence, instead of having to send information to an externallylocated service provider 106 as illustrated in FIG. 1 a, the integratedcontrol and logic services provided by the wireless service providernetwork 104 and by the service provider 106 may make decisions as to howbest to handle communicating information to and from a mobile terminal.In this regard, the service provider 106 may also communicate with anInternet service provider.

In another embodiment of the invention, since many of the servicesprovided by the service provider 106 may already be integrated into thewireless service provider's 104 infrastructure, then the complexity ofthe service provider functions may be significantly reduced. Forexample, the wireless service provider 104, the latter of which alreadyhas the pertinent infrastructure in place, may now handle operationadministration maintenance and provisioning (OAM&P) functions, which maybe required by the service provider 106. Since the uplink capabilitiesare inherent in only the wireless service provider network 104, and theservice provider function are also located within the service providernetwork 106, the uplink capabilities for the mobile stations 116 a, 116b may be more efficiently managed from within the wireless serviceprovider network 104.

The FIGS. 1 a-d illustrate integrated services between the cellularnetwork and the digital video broadcast network. However, an alternateembodiment may comprise a system with no integration between thecellular network and the digital video broadcast network. U.S.application Ser. No. 11/010991 is filed on the even date herewith anddiscloses the alternate embodiment.

FIG. 1 e is a high-level block diagram of exemplary DVB-H receivercircuitry in a mobile terminal, which may be utilized in connection withan embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 e, there is shown amobile terminal 130. The mobile terminal 130 may comprise a DVB-Hdemodulator 132 and processing circuitry block 142. The DVB-Hdemodulator block 132 may comprise a DVB-T demodulator 134, time slicingblock 138, and MPE-FEC block 140.

The DVB-T demodulator 134 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic and/orcode that may be adapted to demodulate a terrestrial DVB signal. In thisregard, the DVB-T demodulator 134 may be adapted to downconvert areceived DVB-T signal to a suitable bit rate that may be handled by themobile terminal 130. The DVB-T demodulator may be adapted to handle 2 k,4 k and/or 8 k modes.

The time slicing block 138 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic and/orcode that may be adapted to minimize power consumption in the mobileterminal 130, particularly in the DVB-T demodulator 134. In general,time slicing reduces average power consumption in the mobile terminal bysending data in bursts via much higher instantaneous bit rates. In orderto inform the DVB-T demodulator 134 when a next burst is going to besent, a delta indicating the start of the next burst is transmittedwithin a current burst. During transmission, no data for an elementarystream (ES) is transmitted so as to allow other elementary streams tooptimally share the bandwidth. Since the DVB-T demodulator 134 knowswhen the next burst will be received, the DVB-T demodulator 134 mayenter a power saving mode between bursts in order to consume less power.Reference 144 indicates a control mechanism that handles the DVB-Tdemodulator 134 power via the time slicing block 138. The DVB-Tdemodulator 134 may also be adapted to utilize time slicing to monitordifferent transport streams from different channels. For example, theDVB-T demodulator 134 may utilize time slicing to monitor neighboringchannels between bursts to optimize handover.

The MPE-FEC block 140 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic and/or codethat may be adapted to provide error correction during decoding. On theencoding side, MPE-FEC encoding provides improved carrier to noise ratio(C/N), improved Doppler performance, and improved tolerance tointerference resulting from impulse noise. During decoding, the MPE-FECblock 140 may be adapted to determine parity information from previouslyMPE-FEC encoded datagrams. As a result, during decoding, the MPE-FECblock 140 may generate datagrams that are error-free even in instanceswhen received channel conditions are poor. The processing circuitryblock 142 may comprise suitable processor, circuitry, logic and/or codethat may be adapted to process IP datagrams generated from an output ofthe MPE-FEC block 140. The processing circuitry block 142 may also beadapted to process transport stream packets from the DVB-T demodulator134.

In operation, the DVB-T demodulator 134 may be adapted to receive aninput DVB-T RF signal, demodulate the received input DVB-T RF signal soas to generate data at a much lower bit rate. In this regard, the DVB-Tdemodulator 134 recovers MPEG-2 transport stream (TS) packets from theinput DVB-T RF signal. The MPE-FEC block 140 may then correct any errorthat may be located in the data and the resulting IP datagrams may besent to the processing circuitry block 142 for processing. Transportstream packets from the DVB-T demodulator 134 may also be communicatedto the processing circuitry block 142 for processing.

FIG. 1 f is a block diagram illustrating the sharing of a multiplexer(MUX) by a plurality of MPEG2 services, which may be utilized inconnection with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 f,there is shown a transmitter block 150, a receiver block 151 and achannel 164. The transmitter block 150 may comprise a DVB-H encapsulatorblock 156, a multiplexer 158, and a DVB-T modulator 162. Also shownassociated with the transmitter block 150 is a plurality of service datacollectively referenced as 160. The receiver block 151 may comprise aDVB-H demodulator block 166 and a DVB-H decapsulation block 168. TheDVB-H encapsulator block 156 may comprise MPE block 156 a, MPE-FEC block156 b and time slicing block 156 c.

The multiplexer 156 may comprise suitable logic circuitry and/or codethat may be adapted to handle multiplexing of IP encapsulated DVB-H dataand service data. The plurality of service data collectively referencedas 160 may comprise MPEG-2 formatted data, which may comprise forexample, audio, video and/or data. The DVB-T modulator 162 may comprisesuitable logic circuitry and/or code that may be adapted to generate anoutput RF signal from the transmitter block 150.

The DVB-H demodulator block 166 associated with the receiver block 151is similar to the DVB-H demodulator block 132 of FIG. 1 e. The DVB-Hdecapsulation block 168 may comprise MPE block 168 a, MPE-FEC block 168b and time slicing block 168 c. The DVB-H decapsulation block 168 maycomprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may be adapteddecapsulate the IP data that was encapsulated and multiplexed by thetransmitter block 150. The output of the DVB-H demodulator 166 is thetransport stream packets, which comprised the multiplexed outputgenerated by the multiplexer 158.

FIG. 2 a is a block diagram of a mobile terminal that is adapted toreceive VHF/UHF broadcasts and cellular communications, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2 a, there isshown mobile terminal (MT) or handset 202. The mobile terminal 202 maycomprise multiplexer (MUX) 204 and processing circuitry 206.

The multiplexer 204 may comprise suitable logic circuitry and/or codethat may be adapted to multiplex incoming signals, which may compriseVHF/UHF broadcast channel and at least one cellular channel. Thecellular channel may be within the range of both cellular and PCSfrequency bands.

The processing circuitry 206 may comprise, for example, an RF integratedcircuit (RFIC) or RF front end (RFFE). In this regard, the processingcircuitry 206 may comprise at least one receiver front end (RFE)circuit. A first of these circuits may be adapted to handle processingof the VHF/UHF broadcast channel and a second of these circuits may beadapted to handle a cellular channel. In an embodiment of the invention,a single RFIC may comprise a plurality of RFE processing circuits, eachof which may be adapted to process a particular cellular channel.Accordingly, a single RFIC comprising a plurality of cellular RFEprocessing circuits may be adapted to handle a plurality of cellularchannels. In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of VHF/UHF RFEprocessing circuits may be integrated in a single RFIC. In this regard,a mobile terminal may be adapted to simultaneously handle a plurality ofdifferent VHF/UHF channels. For example, a mobile terminal may beadapted to simultaneously receive a first VHF/UHF channel bearing videoand a second VHF/UHF channel bearing audio.

FIG. 2 b is a block diagram illustrating receive processing circuit ofan RF integrated circuit (RFIC), in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 2 b, there is shown antenna 211, receiverfront end (RFE) circuit 210, and baseband processing block 224. Thereceiver front end (RFE) circuit 210 may comprise a low noise amplifier(LNA) 212, a mixer 214, an oscillator 216, a low noise amplifier oramplifier or amplifier 218, a low pass filter 220 and ananalog-to-digital converter (A/D) 222.

The antenna 211 may be adapted to receive at least one of a plurality ofsignals. For example, the antenna 211 may be adapted to receive aplurality of signals in the GSM band, a plurality of signals in theWCDMA and and/or a plurality of signals in the VHF/UHF frequency band.U.S. application Ser. No. 11/010883, U.S. application Ser. No.11/010006, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/010487, all of which are filedon even date herewith and disclose various antenna configurations thatmay be utilized for a plurality of operating frequency bands.

The receiver front end (RFE) circuit 210 may comprise suitablecircuitry, logic and/or code that may be adapted to convert a receivedRF signal down to baseband. An input of the low noise amplifier 212 maybe coupled to the antenna 211 so that it may receive RF signals from theantenna 211. The low noise amplifier 212 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, and/or code that may be adapted to receive an input RF signalfrom the antenna 211 and amplify the received RF signal in such a mannerthat an output signal generated by the low noise amplifier 212 has avery little additional noise.

The mixer 214 in the RFE circuit 210 may comprise suitable circuitryand/or logic that may be adapted to mix an output of the low noiseamplifier 212 with an oscillator signal generated by the oscillator 216.The oscillator 216 may comprise suitable circuitry and/or logic that maybe adapted to provide a oscillating signal that may be adapted to mixthe output signal generated from the output of the low noise amplifier212 down to a baseband. The low noise amplifier (LNA) or amplifier 218may comprise suitable circuitry and/or logic that may be adapted to lownoise amplify and output signal generated by the mixer 214. An output ofthe low noise amplifier or amplifier 218 may be communicated to the lowpass filter 220. The low pass filter 220 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that may be adapted to low pass filter the outputsignal generated from the output of the low noise amplifier 220. The lowpass filter block 220 retains a desired signal and filters out unwantedsignal components such as higher signal components comprising noise. Anoutput of the low pass filter 220 may be communicated to theanalog-digital-converter for processing.

The analog-to-digital converter (A/D) 222 may comprise suitable logiccircuitry and/or code that may be adapted to convert the analog signalgenerated from the output of the low pass filter 220 to a digitalsignal. The analog-to-digital converter 222 may generate a sampleddigital representation of the low pass filtered signal that may becommunicated to the baseband-processing block 224 for processing. Thebaseband processing block 224 may comprise suitable logic, circuitryand/or code that may be adapted to process digital baseband signalsreceived form an output of the A/D 222. Although the A/D 222 isillustrated as part of the RFE circuit 210, the invention may not be solimited. Accordingly, the A/D 222 may be integrated as part of thebaseband processing block 224. In operation, the RFE circuit 210 isadapted to receive RF signals via antenna 211 and convert the receivedRF signals to a sampled digital representation, which may becommunicated to the baseband processing block 224 for processing.

FIG. 2 c is a block diagram of an exemplary RF receiver system, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2 c,the RF receiver system 250 may comprise a receiver front end 252, abaseband processor 254, a processor 256, and a system memory 258. Thereceiver front end 252 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/orcode that may be adapted to receive an RF signal. The receiver front end252 may be coupled to an external antenna for signal reception and maydemodulate a received RF signal before further processing. Moreover, thereceiver front end 252 may comprise other functions, for example,filtering the received RF signal, amplifying the received RF signal,and/or downconverting the received RF signal to an analog basebandsignal. The receiver front end 252 may also convert the analog basebandsignal to a digital baseband signal.

The baseband processor 254 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,and/or code that may be adapted to process received baseband signalsfrom the receiver front end 252. The processor 256 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, and/or code that may be adapted to control theoperations of the receiver front end 252 and/or the baseband processor254. For example, the processor 256 may be utilized to update and/ormodify programmable parameters and/or values in a plurality ofcomponents, devices, and/or processing elements in the receiver frontend 252 and/or the baseband processor 254. Control and/or datainformation may be transferred from at least one controller and/orprocessor external to the RF receiver system 250 to the processor 256.Similarly, the processor 256 may transfer control and/or datainformation to at least one controller and/or processor external to theRF receiver system 250.

The processor 256 may utilize the received control and/or datainformation to determine a mode of operation for the receiver front end252. For example, the processor 156 may select a specific frequency fora local oscillator, or a specific gain for a variable gain amplifier.Moreover, the specific frequency selected and/or parameters needed tocalculate the specific frequency, and/or the specific gain value and/orthe parameters needed to calculate the specific gain, may be stored inthe system memory 258 via the controller/processor 256. This informationstored in system memory 258 may be transferred to the receiver front end252 from the system memory 258 via the controller/processor 256. Thesystem memory 258 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or codethat may be adapted to store a plurality of control and/or datainformation, including parameters needed to calculate frequencies and/orgain, and/or the frequency value and/or gain value.

FIG. 3 a is a high-level block diagram illustrating an exemplary radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC) and baseband processor (BBP)configuration that may be utilized in connection with an embodiment ofthe invention. Referring to FIG. 3 a, there is shown a RFIC 310 and aBBP 320. The RFIC 310 may also be referred to as a RF front end (RFFE)and may comprise at least one receiver front end (RFE) processingcircuit adapted to process a cellular channel and at least one receiverfront end (RFE) processing circuit adapted to process a VHF/UHFbroadcast channel. In an embodiment of the invention, the RFIC 310 maycomprise a plurality of receiver front ends (RFEs) 312 . . . 314, and316. The BBP 320 may comprise a BBP integrated circuit (BBPIC) 322, andthe BBPIC 322 may comprise an advanced microcontroller bus architecture(AMBA) bus interface 323. The RFIC 310 may communicate signals to theBBP 320.

Each of the plurality of RFEs 312, . . . , 314, and 316 in the RFIC 310may be substantially similar to the RFE 210 illustrated in FIG. 2 b andmay function in a similar manner. Each of the plurality of RFEs 312, . .. , 314, and 316 may be adapted to receive and process RF signals basedon at least one of a plurality of wireless communication standards, forexample, GSM, UMTS, WCDMA, CDMA2000, EDGE, DVB-H, or other accesstechnology. A RFE may comprise circuitry that may be adapted to receiveRF signals and generate an output comprising a digital baseband signalthat may be communicated to the BBPIC 322 in the BBP 320. The BBPIC 322may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may be adaptedto receive and process the digital baseband signals from the RFIC 310.The processed signal from the BBPIC 322 may be communicated to at leastone of a plurality of devices, for example, a visual display or thespeaker.

The AMBA bus interface 323 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may be adapted to communicate with other processors, forexample, a central processor unit (CPU) and/or digital signal processors(DSPs). By utilizing the AMBA bus interface, the BBPIC 322 may exchangeinformation, for example, commands and/or data, with other processors,for example, processor 256 (FIG. 2 c), such that desired functionalitiesmay be executed. For example, the BBPIC 322 may receive a digital fileof a photograph and may store the digital file in memory, for example,system memory 258 (FIG. 2 c). The BBPIC 322 may then communicate theparameters of the digital file, for example, the start address in thememory where the digital file may be stored, the size of the digitalfile, etc., to the processor 256. The processor 256 may process userinput and may retrieve the digital file of the photograph for output onthe visual display.

In operation, the plurality of RFEs 312 . . . 314, and 316 may receiveand process a plurality of RF signals. Each of the plurality of RFEs 312. . . 314, and 316 may downconvert one of the plurality of RF signals toan analog baseband signal, and further convert the analog basebandsignal to a digital baseband signal. For example, the plurality of RFEs312 . . . 314 may be adapted to receive and process cellular channels 1. . . N-1, where cellular channel 1 may be UMTS signal and cellularchannel N-1 may be WCDMA signal. RFE 316 may be adapted to receive andprocess a VHF/UHF broadcast channel. The VHF/UHF broadcast channel maybe transmitted utilizing the DVB-H standard. A digital baseband signalmay then be communicated to the BBPIC 322, and the BBPIC 322 may processthe digital baseband signal. The BBPIC 322 may also communicate with theprocessor 256 via the AMBA bus interface 323 with regard to the statusof the processed signal, which the BBPIC 322 may have stored to a memorylocation. The processor 256 may retrieve the file and executeappropriate steps, for example, display the photograph as in the exampleabove.

FIG. 3 b is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary baseband processorintegrated circuit (BBPIC), such as, for example, the BBPIC of FIG. 3 a,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3b, there is shown a plurality of baseband processing modules 324, . . ., 326, and 328. The plurality of baseband processing modules 324, . . ., 326, and 328 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code thatmay be adapted to process at least one of a plurality of basebandsignals. The plurality of baseband signals may have been converted fromRF signals that may have been transmitted by systems that may complywith at least one of a plurality of cellular communication standardsand/or VHF/UHF broadcast standard. Examples of cellular communicationstandards may be GSM, GPRS, EDGE, wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA2000, andHSDPA. An example of the VHF/UHF broadcast standard may be DVB-H.

In operation, the BBPIC 322 may receive a plurality of digital basebandsignals from the RFIC 310 (FIG. 3 a). The plurality of basebandprocessing modules 324, . . . , 326, and 328 may process at least one ofthe digital baseband signals, and the processed signals may becommunicated to at least one of a plurality of devices, for example, aspeaker or visual display.

FIG. 3 c is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary coupling of theBBPIC of FIG. 3 a to a plurality of peripherals, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3 c, there is shown aBBPIC 320, a FLASH memory 330, random access memory (RAM) 332, a powermanagement unit (PMU) 334, and a plurality of peripherals 336, 338, 340,342, 344, 346, 348, and 350. The BBPIC 320 may be coupled to the FLASHmemory 330 and the RAM 332 via a memory interface, to the PMU 334 via acontrol interface, and to the plurality of peripherals 336, 338, 340,342, 344, 346, 348, and 350 via a peripheral interface. Additionally,the BBPIC 320 may receive inputs signals, for example, digital basebandsignals from, for example, the RFIC 310 (FIG. 3 a).

The FLASH memory 330 may comprise suitable logic and/or circuitry thatmay be adapted to store data and/or code in a non-volatile manner, whereeach memory address may be written multiple times, and the contents ofeach memory address may be randomly accessed. The RAM 332 may comprisesuitable logic and/or circuitry that may be adapted for storing dataand/or code in a volatile manner, where each memory address may bewritten multiple times, and each memory address may be randomly accessedfor read and write operations. The PMU 334 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that may be adapted for controlling power usage byvarious devices. The plurality of peripherals 336, 338, 340, 342, 344,346, 348, and 350 may provide input to or receive output from the BBPIC320. For example, the peripheral 342 may provide communication access toa wireless local area network (WLAN) and the peripheral 348 may providecommunication access to Bluetooth devices. The peripheral 346 may be auniversal subscriber identity module (USIM), in which the USIM maycontain relevant information that enables access onto a subscribedoperator's GSM and/or UMTS network.

In operation, the BBPIC 320 may receive digital baseband signals fromthe RFIC 310 (FIG. 3 a), and these signals may be processed as describedin FIG. 3 b. Using the example from FIG. 3 b, the processed signal mayresult in a digital file of a photograph. The photograph file may bestored in RAM 332. The user of a device that may implement an embodimentof the invention may wish to save the digital file of the photograph toFLASH memory 330 so that the digital file of the photograph will not belost when the device is powered off. The BBPIC 320 may communicate withthe FLASH memory 330 and the RAM 332 via a memory interface, forexample, a serial random access memory (SRAM) bus. The user of thedevice may also send the photograph file from the FLASH memory 330 toanother device, for example, a printer on a computer network via theperipheral 342. The peripheral 342 may be a WLAN interface that providesaccess to the WLAN, and hence to the printer.

The PMU 334 may monitor the baseband processing modules 324, . . . ,326, and 328 (FIG. 3 b) and may indicate to the BBPIC 320 that RFdevices, for example, amplifiers, or analog-to-digital converters,associated with at least one baseband processing module may be powereddown, or placed in stand-by mode. This may occur when the PMU 334 doesnot detect any valid signal being processed by at least one of thebaseband processing modules 324, . . . , 326, and 328. The PMU 334 mayindicate to the BBPIC 320 to power up, or placed in active mode, the RFdevices that may have been placed in stand-by mode. The PMU 334 may thenmonitor the relevant baseband processing module to try to detect a validsignal. If there still is no valid signal detected, then the RF devicesassociated with the baseband processing module may enter the stand-bymode. If there is a valid signal detected, then the RF devicesassociated with the baseband processing module may be left in activemode. The PMU 334 and the BBPIC 320 may communicate with each other viaa bus, for example, the inter-integrated circuit (I²C) bus.

FIG. 3 d is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary coupling of theBBPIC of FIG. 3 a to a plurality of peripherals, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3 d, there is shown theBBPIC 320, the FLASH memory 330, the RAM 332, the PMU 334, plurality ofperipherals 336, 338, 340, 342, 344, 346, 348, and 350. FIG. 3 d furthercomprises antennas 360 and 376, a diplexer 362, power amplifiers (PAs)364 and 370, RFFEs 366 and 368, receiver front end (RFE) 374, and areference clock 372.

The BBPIC 320 may be coupled as described with respect to FIG. 3 c.Additionally, the BBPIC 320 may be coupled to the RFFEs 366 and 368, thereference clock 372, and the RFE 374. The RFE 374 may also be coupled tothe antenna 376. The reference clock 374 may be coupled to the RFFEs 366and 368 and the RFE 374, in addition to the BBPIC 320. The RFFE 366 maybe coupled to the PA 364, and the RFFE 368 may be coupled to the PA 370.The PAs 364 and 370 may be coupled to the diplexer 362, and the diplexer362 may be coupled to the antenna 360.

The antennas 360 and 376 may comprise suitable logic and/or circuitrythat may be adapted to receive and transmit RF signals. The diplexer 362may comprise suitable logic and/or circuitry that may be adapted toisolate received signals from transmitted signals. This may allowreceived signals from being corrupted by much stronger transmittedsignals. The diplexer 362 may also allow transmission of signals frommultiple RFFEs, for example, RFFEs 366 and 368, to the same transmissionantenna, for example, antenna 360.

The reference clock 372 may comprise suitable logic and/or circuitrythat may be adapted to provide a clocking signal to the RFFEs 366 and368, to the RFE 374, and to the BBPIC 320. The clocking signal may beutilized by various devices, for example, analog-to-digital converters,digital-to-analog converters, and latching devices that may receivedigital data. The PAs 364 and 370 may comprise suitable logic and/orcircuitry that may be adapted to amplify an analog signal sufficientlyso that when the analog signal is transmitted by an antenna, forexample, antenna 360 or 376, the transmitted signal may have sufficientstrength that it may appear as a valid signal to a device receiving thetransmitted signal, for example, a cellular base station.

The RFFEs 366 and 368 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or codethat may be adapted to receive a digital baseband signal, convert it toan analog signal and upconvert it to RF frequency so that it may betransmitted by an antenna, for example the antenna 360. The RFFEs 366and 368 and the RFE 374 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may be adapted to receive a RF signal from an antenna, forexample, antenna 376, and downconvert it to an analog baseband signal.The RFFEs 366 and 368 may convert the analog baseband signal to adigital baseband signal.

In operation, a RF signal may be received by the antenna 360, and the RFsignal may be communicated to the diplexer 362. The diplexer 362 maycommunicate the signal to the RFFEs 366 and 368, and the RFFEs 366 and368 may communicate digital baseband signals to the BBPIC 320.Similarly, a RF signal may be received by the antenna 376, and the RFsignal may be communicated to the RFE 374. The RFE 374 may communicate adigital baseband signal to the BBPIC 320. The BBPIC 320 may process thedigital baseband signals as described with respect to FIG. 3 b and FIG.3 c.

During transmission, the BBPIC 320 may communicate digital basebandsignals to at least one of the RFFEs 366 and 368. The RFFEs 366 and 368may convert the digital baseband signals to analogs signals, and thenupconvert the analog signals to RF signals. The RF signals may then becommunicated to the PAs 364 and 370, respectively, by the RFFEs 366 and368. The PAs 364 and 370 may amplify the RF signals and communicate theamplified RF signals to the diplexer 362 which may combine the amplifiedRF signals and communicate the combined RF signal to the antenna 360.The PMU 334, FLASH memory 330, the RAM 332, and the plurality ofperipherals 336, 338, 340, 342, 344, 346, 348, and 350 may function asdescribed in FIG. 3 c.

FIG. 3 e is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary coupling of theBBPIC of FIG. 3 a to a plurality of peripherals, including RFFEs and asingle antenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 3 e, there is shown the BBPIC 320, the FLASH memory330, the RAM 332, the PMU 334, plurality of peripherals 336, 338, 340,342, 344, 346, 348, and 350. There is further shown an antenna 360, adiplexer 362, power amplifiers (PAs) 364 and 370, RFFEs 366 and 368,receiver front end (RFE) 374, and a reference clock 372.

The various devices illustrated in FIG. 3 e may be coupled as describedwith respect to FIG. 3 d with a few exceptions. The antenna 360 may notbe coupled to the RFE 374. Rather, the antenna 360 may be coupled to thediplexer 362, and the diplexer 362 may be coupled to the RFE 374.Therefore, the diplexer 362 may also communicate received RF signals tothe RFE 374 to the RFFEs 366 and 368. The diplexer may also becommunicated amplified RF signals from the PAs 364 and 370. In thisregard, all RF reception and transmission may be via the antenna 360.The devices in FIG. 3 e may function as described with respect to FIGS.3 b, 3 c and 3 d.

FIG. 3 f is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating receiving of an RFsignal and converting the RF signal to a baseband signal, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3 f, in step 380,a VHF/UHF broadcast RF signal may be received at the antenna. In step382, the VHF/UHF broadcast RF signal may be converted to a basebandsignal. In step 386, a cellular RF signal may be received at theantenna. In step 388, the cellular RF signal may be converted to abaseband signal. In step 384, the baseband signal may be processed.

Referring to FIGS. 2 b, 3 b, 3 d and 3 f, there is shown a plurality ofsteps 380 to 388 that may be utilized to receive an RF signal, which maybe a cellular communication signal or a VHF/UHF broadcast signal. Instep 380, a VHF/UHF broadcast RF signal, for example, a DVB-H RF signal,may be received by the antenna 376. The received signal may becommunicated to the RFE 374. In step 382, the RFE 374 may downconvertthe VHF/UHF broadcast RF signal to an analog baseband signal, and thenconvert the analog baseband signal to a digital baseband signal via ananalog-to-digital converter 222. The digital baseband signal may becommunicated to the BBPIC 320. In step 384, the digital baseband signalmay be processed by one of a plurality of baseband processing modules324, . . . , 326, and 328.

In step 386, a cellular RF signal may be received by the antenna 360,and the cellular RF signal may be communicated to the diplexer 362. Thediplexer 362 may then communicate the cellular RF signal to the RFFEs366 and 368. In step 388, the RFFEs 366 and 368 may downconvert thecellular RF signal to an analog baseband signal, and then convert theanalog baseband signal to a digital baseband signal via theanalog-to-digital converter 222. The digital baseband signal may becommunicated to the BBPIC 320. In step 384, the digital baseband signalmay be processed by one of the plurality of baseband processing modules324, . . . , 326, and 328.

FIG. 3 g is a block diagram illustrating exemplary communication betweena mobile terminal and a plurality of different communication paths, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3 g,there is shown a mobile terminal 390 that comprises a RF processingcircuit 392 and a baseband processing circuit 394. The mobile terminal390 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code that may beadapted to communicate and process information from a plurality ofdifferent networks. In this regard, the mobile terminal 390 may receiveinformation, which may comprise voice, data, images, and/orapplications, via a VHF/UHF communication path and/or a bidirectionalcellular communication path. The mobile terminal 390 may also be adaptedto transmit information via the bidirectional cellular communicationpath. In this regard, the transmitted information may be associated withinformation received from the VHF/UHF communication path and/or thebidirectional cellular communication path.

The RF processing circuit 392 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,and/or code that may be adapted to process RF signals received via aVHF/UHF communication path and/or bidirectional cellular servicecommunication path. The RF processing circuit 392 may also be adapted toprocess RF signals that may be transmitted to a bidirectional cellularservice communication path. The baseband processing circuit 394 maycomprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code that may be adapted toprocess broadcast information from, for example, the VHF/UHFcommunication path, and/or cellular information from, for example, thebidirectional cellular communication path. In this regard, the basebandprocessing circuit 394 may comprise different portions that may processinformation from different cellular communication paths and from VHF/UHFcommunication path.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the mobile terminal 390 mayrequest media from a service provider 106 (FIG. 1 a) via thebidirectional cellular communication path. The service provider 106 mayrespond by transmitting the requested media via a VHF/UHF communicationpath, for example, by using the DVB standard. The service provider 106may also transmit the requested media via the bidirectional cellularcommunication path. A plurality of cellular standards may be used fortransmission via the bidirectional cellular communication path, forexample, UMTS, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA2000, WCDMA, and HSDPA.

Although some embodiments of the invention have been described, theinvention is not so limited. For example, the FIGS. 3 d and 3 e may bemodified to include a third RFFE for handling CDMA2000 RF signals.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and, which, when loaded in a computersystem is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in thepresent context means any expression, in any language, code or notation,of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for communicating with a plurality of communicationsnetworks, the method comprising: receiving, in a mobile terminal, aplurality of cellular frequency band communications services forprocessing; processing, in said mobile terminal, cellular informationassociated with said plurality of cellular frequency band communicationsservices via at least one cellular processing module integrated within asingle integrated circuit within said mobile terminal; receiving, insaid mobile terminal, at least one VHF/UHF broadcast services forprocessing; and processing, in said mobile terminal, VHF/UHF broadcastinformation associated with said at least one VHF/UHF broadcast servicesvia at least one VHF/UHF broadcast processing module integrated withinsaid single integrated circuit within said mobile terminal, wherein saidcellular processing module and said VHF/UHF broadcast processing moduleoperate independently of each other to separately process said cellularinformation and said VHF/UHF broadcast information without exchanginginformation.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said singleintegrated circuit within said mobile terminal is a single basebandprocessor integrated circuit (BBPIC).
 3. The method according to claim1, comprising receiving in said mobile terminal, said plurality ofcellular frequency band communications services independently of saidVHF/UHF band broadcast services.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein said plurality of cellular frequency band communicationsservices operates independently of said VHF/UHF band broadcast services.5. The method according to claim 1, comprising receiving in said mobileterminal, said VHF/UHF band broadcast services from a digital videobroadcasting (DVB) system.
 6. The method according to claim 1,comprising, receiving in said terminal, at least one of said pluralityof cellular frequency band communications services from at least one ofglobal system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radioservice (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), codedivision multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), andhigh speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) systems.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, comprising converting, in said mobile terminal, RFsignals associated with said received plurality of cellular frequencyband communications services and RF signals associated with said VHF/UHFband broadcast services to digital baseband signals.
 8. A system forcommunicating with a plurality of communications networks, the systemcomprising: circuitry in a mobile terminal that receives and processes aplurality of cellular frequency band communications services and atleast one VHF/UHF broadcast services; at least one cellular processingmodule integrated within a single integrated circuit within said mobileterminal to process cellular information associated with said pluralityof cellular frequency band communications services; and at least oneVHF/UHF broadcast processing module integrated within said singleintegrated circuit within said mobile terminal to process VHF/UHFbroadcast information associated with said at least one VHF/UHFbroadcast services, wherein said at least one cellular processing moduleand said at least one VHF/UHF broadcast processing module operateindependently of each other to separately process said cellularinformation and said VHF/UHF broadcast information without exchanginginformation.
 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said singleintegrated circuit in said mobile terminal is a single basebandprocessor integrated circuit (BBPIC).
 10. The system according to claim8, comprising circuitry in said mobile terminal that receives saidplurality of cellular frequency band communications servicesindependently of said VHF/UHF band broadcast services at said mobileterminal.
 11. The system according to claim 8, wherein said plurality ofcellular frequency band communications services operates independentlyof said VHF/UHF band broadcast services.
 12. The system according toclaim 8, comprising circuitry in said mobile terminal that receives saidVHF/UHF band broadcast services from a digital video broadcasting (DVB)system.
 13. The system according to claim 8, comprising circuitry insaid mobile terminal that receives at least one of said plurality ofcellular frequency band communications services from at least one ofglobal system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radioservice (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), codedivision multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), andhigh speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) systems.
 14. The systemaccording to claim 8, comprising circuitry in said mobile terminal thatconverts RF signals associated with said received plurality of cellularfrequency band communications services and RF signals associated withsaid VHF/UHF band broadcast services to digital baseband signals.
 15. Amachine-readable storage having stored thereon, a computer programhaving at least one code section for network communication, the at leastone code section being executable by a machine for causing the machineto perform steps comprising: receiving, in a mobile terminal, aplurality of cellular frequency band communications services forprocessing; processing, in said mobile terminal, cellular informationassociated with said plurality of cellular frequency band communicationsservices via at least one cellular processing module integrated within asingle integrated circuit within said mobile terminal; receiving, insaid mobile terminal, at least one VHF/UHF broadcast services forprocessing; and processing, in said mobile terminal, VHF/UHF broadcastinformation associated with said at least one VHF/UHF broadcast servicesvia at least one VHF/UHF broadcast processing module integrated withinsaid single integrated circuit within said mobile terminal, wherein saidcellular processing module and said VHF/UHF broadcast processing moduleoperate independently of each other to separately process said cellularinformation and said VHF/UHF broadcast information without exchanginginformation.
 16. The machine-readable storage according to claim 15,wherein said single integrated circuit within said mobile terminal is asingle baseband processor integrated circuit (BBPIC).
 17. Themachine-readable storage according to claim 15, wherein said at leastone code section comprises code for receiving in said mobile terminal,said plurality of cellular frequency band communications servicesindependently of said VHF/UHF band broadcast services.
 18. Themachine-readable storage according to claim 15, wherein said pluralityof cellular frequency band communications services operatesindependently of said VHF/UHF band broadcast services.
 19. Themachine-readable storage according to claim 15, wherein said at leastone code section comprises code for receiving in said mobile terminal,said VHF/UHF band broadcast services from a digital video broadcasting(DVB) system.
 20. The machine-readable storage according to claim 15,wherein said at least one code section comprises code for receiving insaid terminal, at least one of said plurality of cellular frequency bandcommunications services from at least one of global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced datarates for GSM evolution (EDGE), code division multiple access 2000(CDMA2000), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), and high speed downlink packet access(HSDPA) systems.
 21. The machine-readable storage according to claim 15,wherein said at least one code section comprises code for converting, insaid mobile terminal, RF signals associated with said received pluralityof cellular frequency band communications services and RF signalsassociated with said VHF/UHF band broadcast services to digital basebandsignals.